Bollywood movies are known for powerful dialogues. But once in a blue moon, the film industry delves into characters who live in a silent world, sending top stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra to classes in the sign language.
Learning lessons for about a month or so, the actors get priceless glimpses into the lives of the hearing- and speech-impaired, even if they do so only for their roles.
Upcoming ventures like Anurag Basu's 'Barfee' and Neeraj Ghosh's 'Soundtrack' are once again delving into this quietly alive world that remains largely unexplored in Hindi movies.
Some estimates say there are over 50 million hearing-impaired people in India
One such was Gulzar's 'Koshish' in 1972 starring Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachchan. The film depicted a deaf and mute couple and their conflicts, pain and struggle to carve a niche for them in an insensitive society.
Many years later came Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut film 'Khamoshi: The Musical' (1996) with Nana Patekar and Seema Biswas playing a deaf and mute pair.
The year 2005 saw two critically acclaimed movies, 'Black' and 'Iqbal'. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and actress Rani Mukerji learnt the sign language from the Helen Keller Institute.
Big B, who won the National Award for the film, had said, 'It was an extremely uplifting experience. It took me six months of training to prepare for the movie. It has turned out to be the most challenging film of my career.'
Rani who played a deaf, mute and blind girl, told, 'Working on 'Black' has made me realize that those who are physically or mentally challenged are actually much stronger than normal, successful human beings.'
But the active contribution of actors helps in building a connection with hearing-impaired fans.
Ranbir, who plays a deaf and dumb person in 'Barfee', has learnt the sign language. Co-star Priyanka, who plays a mentally challenged girl in the film, has also been attending classes as she interacts with Ranbir's character in the movie.
Soha Ali Khan is gearing up to get into the skin of her character in 'Soundtrack' and tells, 'I play a DJ who loses her hearing but decides to play music despite the handicap. I am learning the sign language.'
Even stars from the West like pop star Lady Gaga and 'Desperate Housewives' actress Eva Longoria have announced they are learning the sign language to communicate with hearing-impaired fans.
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